Michael I Prestlien

  Research Notes:

1. Source: Sagitawah Saga - The Story of Whitecourt

- came to the Whitecourt area about 1911
- map shows location of homestead

2. source: Western Land Grants; NE portion of [Sec 20 - error], Twp 59, Range 12, W of the 5th (next to his father)
- homestead entry: NE¼ Sec 19, Twp 59, Range 12, W5th on 25 Oct 1910
- his application for patent is for NE¼ Sec 19, and a copy of the patent letter from Ottawa is for Sec 19
[an land agent had written sec 20 - but this has to be an error]
- image 1992 - Iver M Prestlien of Silvana WA "Entry by Proxy" - applied on behalf of Michael I Prestlien
https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/60865/images/albertahomestead2967cana_0991?pId=170323 ;
Alberta homestead collection

*** 18 Oct 2022 - still to come: July visit to Whitecourt


3. 1911 Canada Census; District - Edmonton; Sub-District - #32; page 18 (twp 59, range 12), dw/fam 230; line13

Head of household was Iver; Michael - son, age 35, to Canada, 1911; along with Andrew - son, age 31, to Canada 1911
- each is listed as American; Lutheran religion; farmers
AND all are listed in the same dwelling and family; unfortunately only twp and range are recorded - individual sections are not.

1916 Canada Census; Edmonton West; sub district, 18; page 2, fam/dw 33 [line 14]
Michael Prestlien age 39 b in US; living in Twp 59, range 12, W5th; em 1911; knot sawyer at Lumber Mill

Michael is NOT: 1921 Canada Census; Alberta, Battle River (218), sub-district 18
[district - brothers, Simon and Nels or in the same area as the 1926 Cenus
Nor: is Michael recorded in Edmonton west, that is, Whitecourt area in the 1921 census -

23 May 2023 - can't find him in 1921 census


1926 Census [Prairie Provinces] Battle River, sub-district 41; SE¼ Sec 7, Twp 40, Rge 8, W4th *
Michael Prestlien, age 49 b in US; em 1911
wife Addie, age 47, b in US; em 1911 ?
dau, Mildred, age 8, b in AB
son, Norman, age 7, b in AB

* municipality of Stocks
* using land converter website and google maps
- travel south of Amisk on hwy 884 for abt 20 kms to junction with Twp Rd 402
- at Twp Rd 402, turn west for 3 kms, to Range Rd 85 - go another 1 kms to the next intersection (not label on
google maps, and then south for about .75 km - to the East [left] is the SE ¼ of sec 7


1931 Canada Census, Alberta, Peace River South, ED [sub dis] 38; Whitecourt Dis, page 8, dw/fam 102/102
[line 35]
NE sec 34, 59-11-5; **
Michael Prestlien, age 54 b in Nor; own home, wood, 3 rooms, value $200; em 1911; farmer
wife Adeline [Addie], age 51 b in US
dau, Mildred, age 13 b in AB
son Norman, age 12 b in AB

** this is the quarter section of land that brother Andrew I Prestlien homesteaded

https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/62640/images/1931_223A-e011755806?ssrc=&backlabel=Return


... 1935Mike Prestlien and wife, farmer at Whitecourt
Jasper-Edson Electoral District; rural polling 153, Whitecourt


4. Source: Family Records (personal - Rueben Grue) - letter from Mildred Haggith, Athabasca, AB; 16 May 1979 received by Mary E Grue (Lofgren)

- gives very little detail regarding dates and other information
- gives descendant names

5. 1910 US Census (15 April 1910] ; Silvana, Snohomish Co, sheet 3B; line 92

- listed as a boarder in the household of Anna J Swanson (sp); occupation as a laborer, doing odd jobs; age 33; single


6. 1916 Canada - Whitecourt

- single
- occupation as knot sawyer with a shingle mill
- emigration 1911


7. Source: Memories and Milestones, Amisk-Hughenden; page 1015-1016 (submitted by Jean Bridge)

- had worked on a railroad construction crew; owned a livery stable -- Silvana
- arrived at the homestead in Whitecourt in the spring of 1911
- spent the summer clearing lands; in the winters he was in the Camrose and Czar areas
- by 1915 he had built a house; in 1917 received patent on the homestead
- when he married in 1916, he left the homestead and settled on a farm 2.5 miles north of the Sugar Bowl district, a few miles of from his brother's farm * [ Czar/Hughenden area; but not recorded in 1921 Canada census ]
- about 1929 or 1930, Michael and family moved to Whitecourt
- Michael's wife died 1937 at Whitecourt; his son, Norman died (in 1941) of a burst appendix at Claresholm where he was working with the harvest.
- in 1939, Michael sold his farm and moved to Edmonton and lived with his daughter, Mildred


* Edmonton Journal, issue 27 Jul 1918, page 23 [newspapers.com]
"Hughenden" Mr. M. Prestlien has an infection in his right hand

note: from another note in the same issue, the CPR line was in place past Hughenden - I think it continued at least to Provost and then. ....

* Edmonton Journal, issue 1 Apr 1927, page 24 [newspapers.com]
- birthdays - Norman Prestlien, Hughenden, age 8
- then another birthday for Norman, issue 1 Apr 1930, page 8 - age 11


****18 Oct 2020I must have originally reviewed this book through an inter - library loan in 2009
[it is still available through Library and Archives Canda]. It has not been scanned and not available online and is NOT on U of C website.
I had used this for a number of people, and made a few notes [on my legacy database, go to "sources" and then you
can click "show list" - lists the people I referenced as a source for this book]


8. Michael Prestlien Funeral/obit Edmonton Journal, issue 19 Jun 1947, page 16

- died 11 Jun 1947 at age 70; from Athabasca; [name as Mickael]
- pallbearers: Simon, Oscar, Theodore and Nels Grue, Harman Haggith, Mr Knott
- flower tributes ... Mrs N Lyons and Ernie ... sisters..brothers
- survived by his daughter, Mildred (Mrs T C Haggith) of Athabasca; a step daughter, Mrs Nelson Lyons of Whitecourt, and a step son, Clifford Hunt of North Dakota; [see point 10]
4 brothers and 4 sisters - Mrs Olga Larson, Mrs Tena Fournier, both of Seattle; Mrs Lena
Shcroedoer of Everett, Mrs Ella Oliverson, Bellingham; Iver at Portland OR, Nelvin at Olympia, WA; Simon of Silver Heights, AB, Nels at Hughenden, AB

8. a. marriage location from AB provincial archives: Alberta, Canada, Marriages Index, 1898-1944
- cert 4208



9. Seattle Times

13 May 1908, page 4, Col 3: Liverymen Badly Treated by Imposters
- "convention of men who hire horses to public"; - in attendance, M I Prestlien, Silvana

10. Ancestry.com [ 18 Aug 2012 ]
Public Member Tree ' Koontz Geneology 5-20-2011 Family Tree owner Richelle Brown' with last log on Aug 2012
- relationship through the wife, Addie Anzon, of Michael I Prestlien's (his parents were Iver M Prestlien and Kjersti S Grue) and her first marriage to Irving S Hunt
- "Addie was married to Irving Hunt, father of Ruth Hunt Prestlien. They divorced - and in 1916 Addie married Micahel Prestlien. Addie was 37 when they married. On 1 Apr 1919 she gave birth to their son Norman Prestlien. (this family tree does not include Mildred as a daughter of Michael)
- no source information other than US Census


10. Ancestry.com [ 17 Aug 2012 ]
- Public Member Tree 'Fournier Family Tree owner Ryan Fournier' from Buckeye, AZ with last log on abt Mar 2012
- relationship through Tina Prestlien (her parents were Iver M Prestlien and Kjersti S Grue)
- photo of Michael's cabin - submitted by Hegseth in Jul 2011 (see file) with the following capation:

"cabin was built by Mikkel "Mike" Prestlien in 1910 in Whitecourt, Alberta Canada where he and 3 other brothers homesteaded in the early 1900's. He sold his home to Bill Leary and family, Bill's daughter gave the Heritage Society the Cabin and they moved it for preservation in the Whitecourt Heritage Park. Mr. John Dahl, President of the Heritage Society took this picture and sent it along with some information to me on July 11, 2011."


Note: there are over 70 Family Trees on Ancestry [as of 18 Oct 2022], but NONE record any new information - in fact I have researched and found more information. Only a few FTs note that Addie was married previously




11. OBIT Mickael Prestlien, Edmonton Journal, issue 19 June 1947, page 16
- died 11 Jun 1947 at age 70 years
- survived by daughter Mildred (Mrs T C Haggith) of Athabasca; step daughter Mrs Nelson Lyons, Whitecourt; a step son, Clifford Hunt of ND;
four brothers - Iver at Portland OZR, Nelvin at Olympia WA; Simon at Silver Heights, AB and Nels at Hughenden AB; four sisters - Mrs Olga Larsen,
Mrs Tina Fournier both of Seattle, Mrs Lena Schroeder at Everett and Mrs Ella Oliverson, Bellingham
- interment at the Edmonton Cemetery ^356,357

  Noted events in his life were:

1. Residence - 1910, 15 Apr 1910, Silvana, Snohomish Co, Washington, United States. ³⁵⁸

2. Residence - 1911, 1911, Whitecourt, Alberta, Canada. ³⁵⁹

3. Land, 1911, Whitecourt, Alberta, Canada. ³⁶⁰

4. Residence - 1902-1903, 1902-1903, Norman (Slivana), Snohomish Co, Washington, United States. ³⁶¹

5. Residence - 1916, 1916, Whitecourt, Alberta, Canada. ³⁶²

6. Residence - 1916 to about 1929, 1916 to 1929, Hughenden, Alberta, Canada. ³⁵⁷ Michael I Prestlien is recorded in Whitecourt, AB in 1916 and 1920. According to the community history book (Memories and Milestones, Amisk-Hughenden), he arrived at the homestead in Whitecourt in the spring of 1911 and he spent spent the summer clearing lands and in the winters he was in the Camrose and Czar areas. When he married in 1916, he left the homestead and settled on a farm 2.5 miles north of the Sugar Bowl district, a few miles of from his brother's farm [ Czar/Hughenden area ]. About 1929 or 1930, Michael and family moved to Whitecourt.

7. Residence - 1920, 1920, Whitecourt, Alberta, Canada. ³⁶³

Michael married Addie Eliza Anson on 28 Dec 1916 in Hughenden, Alberta, Canada ^351,352.^,353 (Addie Eliza Anson was born on 17 Mar 1879 in Quasqueton, Buchanan Co, Iowa, United States,³⁶⁴ died on 26 Dec 1937 in Whitecourt, Alberta, Canada ³⁵¹ and was buried on 31 Dec 1937 in Edmonton Municipal Cemetery, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada ³⁶⁵.)